Reading the stories of others offers insight, comfort and a much needed escape when faced with bullies, drama, and stress. The Library carries many titles that tell stories of bullying, harassment, survival, and triumph.

Check out the books below to see if one of them speaks to you! And always know there is a Teen Specialist at every CLP location if you need someone to talk to!

Have you ever felt different because of how you look? Age. Weight. Gender. Complexion? The Skin I’m In by Sharon Flake talks about the self-esteem issues black girls face when they are darker skinned. Maleeka is self conscious of her complexion until her whole life is changed when she meets a teacher with a rare skin condition. Check out this book if you want to hear about how Maleeka finds love with a boy named Caleb, overcomes her bully Charlese, and learns to love the skin she’s in!

Darell Mercer moves from Philadelphia to California. There he finds a new life, a new school, and a new bully. After spending months in fear, he is faced with a big decision. He can either keep running from his bully or find some way to fight back. To find out what happens to Darell check out The Bully by Paul Langan.

Thirteen-year-old Vladimir Tod really hates middle school. Bullies harass him, the principal is watching him closely, and the girl he likes prefers his best friend. And Vlad has a big secret: His mother was human, but his father was a vampire. With no idea of the extent of his powers, Vlad struggles daily with his blood cravings and growing fangs while trying to hide his identity. On top of everything he is being stalked by a vampire hunter! Check out The Chronicles of Vladimir Tod by Heather Brewer and read all five books in the series to find out what happens to Vlad!

Much like Diary of a Wimpy Kid, The Loser List tells the oddball story of Danny Shine. He is a geek who loves reading comics, trading comics, drawing comics, and buying comics. Find out how he loses a best friend, gets humiliated in front of the whole school… and somehow still manages to save the day!

In 50 Cent’s book Playground he uses his life experiences to tell the story of a 13 year old bully named Butterball. In the story, Butterball finds himself overweight and unhappy in a new school. One day, in an angry haze, he fills two socks with D batteries and heads to a fight at the playground. You will have to read to find out what happens to Butterball and how he finds redemption.

-Michael @ CLP Hazelwood

When I get this kind of cold, all I want to do is curl up in my bed with an old stand-by.  You know, the kind of books that you can (and want) to read over and over again and just make you feel better by turning through the pages?  The kind of books that you’ve read so much you know which parts you can skip to get to the really good parts.  Those are the best for when a cold’s got you down.

Here’s a short annotated list of some of my favorite books to read when I’m sick.

Sunshine by Robin McKinley – This is my all-time favorite vampire novel, and I’ve read quite a few vampire novels in my day.  It’s a stand alone novel from a great author that encapsulates a really fascinating world.  It’s kind of like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, minus high school drama, plus a little more magic and a bakery.  There’s a Big Bad, a brooding hero, and an epic battle at the very end.  Sunshine, the titular character, is a delight to read and always makes me feel better when I’m fighting off the sniffles.

Princess of the Midnight Ball by Jessica Day George – I love fairy tales, like a lot, and this book is an adaptation off my absolute favorite fairy tale, The Twelve Dancing Princesses.  It’s also a combination of a million other things I love including, the Regency Period, Germany, royal families, strong female heroines, and the hero is a boy who knits.  This book is usually a fast read for me now (since I know it so well) and I can finish it up then still have time to nap away my cold!

Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater – This book is relatively new to my list.  It’s about a girl who feels a strange connection to the wolves that seem to be terrorizing her quiet mid-western town.  I love reading about cold places or people being in the cold while I’m all snug and cozy on the couch or in my bed.  I don’t know why, I think it makes me just feel warmer.  And what’s colder than werewolves in a Minnesota winter?  And, as you might have guessed, I’m a sucker for a good romance, especially when I’m feeling bad.  If you like this one, check out the sequels, Linger and Forever.  But don’t spoil that last one for me!  It’s on my “to read” list.

What are your favorite books to read or things to do when you’re home sick?

-Morgan

Remember the NFL lockout?  I didn’t think so!  Back in June and July, it was a struggle to even get football season started.  But now here we are in late January, awaiting the last game of the season.  Most people here in Pittsburgh are probably still upset about the Steelers loss to Tim Tebow and the Denver Broncos, but it still promises to be a good game.  Super Bowl XLVI (that’s Super Bowl 46 for those of you not schooled in Roman numerals) will feature the New York Giants against the New England Patriots.  This is a rematch of one of the best Super Bowls of all time just a few years ago, when the Giants knocked off the undeated Patriots and ruined their perfect season.  Will it be Tom Brady joining Terry Bradshaw and Joe Montana as the only quarterbacks to win four Super Bowls, or will Eli Manning lead the Giants to their fourth Super Bowl (and his second win)?  Hopefully, this game will be as good as the last one featuring these two teams!  Enjoy!

Who are you rooting for in this year’s Super Bowl?  Who do you think will win?

101 Things You Wish You’d Invented …And Some You Wish No One Had
by Tracey Turner and Richard Horne

Maybe you have an idea for a really cool product like these, but you don’t think you’ll ever be the one to build it.  Maybe you don’t think you’re good at science and math, or that they’re boring, or there’s so much work it’s not worth it.  But it doesn’t have to be that way!  I mean, if you think inventing mind-controlled cars for a living is boring, then I don’t know if I can help you.  But you definitely don’t have to be overwhelmed by the work.

Math Doesn’t Suck: How to Survive Middle School Math Without Losing Your Mind or Breaking a Nail
by Danica McKellar

Did you know that there already aren’t enough people doing science and technology jobs?  Even when unemployment is high, tech companies have trouble finding people with the skills they need.  Because this shortage of employees is only expected to get worse, schools, libraries, and other educational organizations are developing tools to help you get ready now, as a middle or high school student.

How to Be a Genius
by John Woodward

For example, there’s a page of the Carnegie Library’s website that focuses on science, technology, engineering, and math.  Whether you’re interested in a career as an inventor or you just need help with next week’s exam, this is a good place to start.  Make sure you look at the tab for Pittsburgh STEM if you’re interested in joining a group or entering a contest.

Plant and Animal Science Fair Projects: Using Beetles, Weeds, Seeds, and More
by Yael Calhoun

Of course, you can also visit your library to find out if there are any other contests or events in your area, and for more homework help and ideas.   And feel free to share your cool inventions with us when they’re ready!

-Denise

In my neck of the woods many of us have just finished celebrating the New Year, but a huge percentage of the world’s population is just getting started.  This year the Chinese New Year falls on January 23 and is the beginning of the Year of the Dragon.  New Year’s day in China is actually the first day of 15 days of celebration devoted to bringing good luck to everyone in the coming year.

In the weeks leading up to the New Year, Chinese people all around the world prepare by cleaning their homes, repaying debts, buying new cloths and getting their hair cut.  The traditional belief holds that a messy home and life will bring the bad luck of past years into the new one and its everyone’s goal to bring good luck to the future.

Many homes decorate by hanging beautiful paper cut designs.  Traditional themes of good luck are the most popular.  Check out these books to learn a few paper cutting skills.

No holiday would be complete without traditional foods.  The Chinese New Year revolves around variety of foods associated with good luck.  Many foods associated with New Year celebrations are homophones for words like prosperity, health and fortune.  For that reason oranges, dumplings and a New Year Pudding figure heavily on Chinese tables at this time of year.   Try your hand at making a few traditional chinese dumplings with one of many Asian cookbooks from the library!

So make sure to find time to do a little celebrating for the Chinese New Year, its good luck!

-Brooke, CLP

The Fallen Series by Lauren Kate

Creepy old school, teen pining, angels….and demons.

First Book: Fallen   Coming out in 2012: Rapture

The Delirium Trilogy by Lauren Oliver

A future America where the part of the brain that feels love is surgically removed to ensure civil obedience.

First Book: Delirium    Coming out in 2012: Pandemonium

The Leviathan Trilogy by Scott Westerfeld

The First World War given a steampunk/sci-fi makeover.  It’s biology versus technology. The last book in the trilogy, Goliath, just came out at the end of last year. A companion book called The Manual of Aeronautics is coming out in 2012.

First Book: Leviathan

The Evernight Series by Claudia Gray

The new girl at a private school hooks up with the popular crowd, who likes to go out for a ‘bite’ every now and then.

First Book: Evernight   Coming out in 2012: Balthazar

The Heroes of Olympus Series by Rick Riordan

More mythological mayhem from the author of the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series. The demi-gods of camp Half-blood discover there’s another camp like theirs. Are they friends or foes?

First Book: The Lost Hero   Coming out in 2012: The Mark of Athena

The Kane Chronicles Series by Rick Riordan

A brother and sister find out that they are part of an ancient Egyptian clan of magicians. Another outstanding mythological, magical adventure from Rick Riordan.

First Book: The Red Pyramid  Coming out in 2012: The Serpent’s Shadow

Ship Breaker and The Drowned Cities by Paolo Bacigalupi

A future world dealing with the consequences of melted ice caps, risen sea levels, no fossil fuels, and malicious science.  The Drowned Cities, coming out in 2012,  is the sequel to the 2011 Printz Award Winner Ship Breaker.

As you can see, there’s something for everyone’s taste, so try one, or try them all. Enjoy!

Steve – CLP Lawrenceville

Things Not Seen by Andrew Clements

Bobby Phillips is just an ordinary 15 year old boy. He is socially awkward and barely surviving high school. He’s an average teenager when one day he suddenly disappears. As in, he becomes invisible, and his whole life is different.

Now Bobby has to deal with his bewildered parents, who are completely engrossed in solving this mystery. Bobby almost goes insane with his invisibility but he has one thing that calms him down; Alicia. Alicia is a blind girl he met at the library and his right hand (wo)man in helping him get back to normal.

This novel is an inspiring coming of age story in which Bobby truly experiences a different perspective on life.

photo by flickr user Horia Varlan

Maybe you’ve noticed that some key sites on the internet have black, empty homepages today.  If you haven’t read about the reasons why, here’s a short overview:

There’s a bill going through Congress right now called SOPA, or Stop Online Privacy Act.  This video tells you how it aims to do that, and why internet users and website creators are wary of it.

Many people have been speaking out against the bill, to try to fight what they see as backing from the entertainment industry to push this into law.  (Here’s a list of companies who support the bill, collected by the International Business Times).

The Electronic Frontier Foundation provides us with a helpful summary of actions so far from December, and notes that there will be a hearing on January 18th (tomorrow) to hear testimony from tech experts.

To raise awareness of protests against SOPA, Wikipedia, Reddit, and other blogs and sites will be going black to show what they think the internet will be like if SOPA is passed.  You can customize your own site to go black in solidarity with them by using the code found here.  However, Twitter will not be joining them.  Although it is against SOPA, the CEO, Dick Costolo, thinks the blackout is a “foolish” initiative.

According to this article on the Political Animal blog for Washington Monthly, SOPA is now facing opposition from the White House and key backers have agreed to drop part of their provisions.  This could come, in part, because of the vocal protests that have already happened. Is it still necessary to disrupt the information seeking of users around the world tomorrow?

What do you think?  Do you want to protest to your government representative? You can go here.  Do you just want to find a workaround to the blackout? Check out TIME’s tips in this article.

Want to read more about the issues surrounding the policing of piracy?  Check out the transcript of Cory Doctorow’s speech on The Coming War on General Computation, or watch the speech yourself on YouTube.  Or to go much, much deeper, check out these books from the library:

-Tessa, CLP-East Liberty

Favorite Smoothies

• Pumpkin Pie Monster: This one is already a vegan recipe so no need to worry about switching up any of the ingredients.
• Frozen Mocha Hot Chocolate: This isn’t a vegan recipe so remember to replace the milk with whatever you normally use, and remember to get vegan hot chocolate mix and vegan chocolate syrup.
• Pumpkin Gingerbread Smoothie: This is a vegan recipe, but I don’t add the chia seeds.

Favorite Hot Drinks

• Vegan Coconut Milk Latte: This is my standard latte recipe.  Yum!  Sorry, but I just found out this link doesn’t work. :(  See recipe in the comments section below.
• Spiced Hot Dark Chocolate: The recipe calls for soy milk – just remember to buy vegan chocolate if you want the recipe to be vegan.
• Homade Chai Lattes: This isn’t a vegan recipe so substitute the milk and don’t use honey.  Instead use  agave or a vegan sugar or “Sugar in the Raw”.
• Hot Buttered Lemonade: This recipe isn’t vegan either, just substitute the butter for a vegan brand.  I use Earth Balance.
• Pumpkin Spice Latte:  This recipe isn’t vegan so you’ll need to substitute the milk if you want it to be vegan.

Enjoy!

-Kim at Squirrel Hill